I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the THE DREAM HEIST by Christina Farley Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
Author: Christina Farley
Paperback Release Date: November 15, 2022
Publisher: Everbound Press
Formats: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 317
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
"A high action adventure with swoon-worthy romance and a mystery that will keep you turning the pages all night long!" — Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author
Your dreams are no longer safe...
Eighteen-year-old Aria Hale loves her job at her father's dream therapy company where she enters dementia patients' dreams to save their memories. But when their lab is ransacked, two technicians are murdered, and her father is kidnapped, everything changes for her.
Determined to find her father, Aria and her friends embark on a harrowing hunt across continents using the dreams of their enemies to guide them. But this dangerous journey plunges her into a world she never bargained for: deception, intrigue, and even love. As she races to save her father and hunt down her enemies, she soon realizes she's in fact the one being hunted. And her dreams are the greatest danger of all.
In the vein of Inception meets The Bourne Identity, THE DREAM HEIST propels readers into a fast-paced adventure that will send them racing to the very end.
Mission Prep
Orlando, Florida
My hands shake as I check the final calculations and enter them into my sleep pod. If only I could ignore the hollow dread that has locked itself into the pit of my stomach. I want to chalk it up to nerves. After all, entering people’s dreams is cutting-edge science, and though Dad and I have been working on the Dreamscape for the last four years, I’m always hoping that this time we will make a breakthrough. Or perhaps it’s because with every Dream Walk, we get that much closer to saving the lives and memories of our patients. No, I sigh. If I’m being honest, this is all about saving Grams’ memories and her mind. Ever since she came down with dementia, and now watching it worsen, I’m determined to do whatever it takes to retrieve or at least save as many memories of hers as I can. Maybe that’s selfish. Maybe my love for her is getting in the way of everything. But right now I don’t care. I just want results.
“You look green, Aria.” Tony chuckles at me from where he preps his sleep pod. “Or maybe purple. It’s hard to tell in this lab’s crappy light.”
“Mornings and I don’t get along,” I grumble, smoothing down my forest green scrubs. They hang on me, wrinkled and disheveled like they hate mornings, too. “Especially before I’ve had breakfast. Can’t wait to go back to sleep.”
“Sleeping on the job,” Tony says. “The ultimate career choice.”
I grin. We’re the only team members at MaxLife who are interns and still seniors in high school. But the whole experience has really pushed us to the limit, and it’s totally been worth the lack of sleep. Sure, we might have to get to work at 4:30 am, but what high schooler gets a chance to enter people’s dreams for a job?
“Buenos días, team,” Javier, our team leader, says as he strides into the room. He checks the Dreamscape board on the wall, reviewing the clients scheduled throughout the day. “Looks like today’s going to be a busy one. Tony and Aria, you’re just here for our first session, correct?”
“Unfortunately, high school calls,” I mutter.
“Right,” Javier says, distractedly still staring at the board. “Looks like for this morning’s patient, our number one goal is to detect any unusual brain functions. Of course, I wouldn’t be too upset if we found that infamous Vault we’ve been looking for.”
“Dude. It doesn’t exist.” Tony adjusts his long dreads so they don’t get tangled in the heart monitor cords. “Your Vault of Memories is as real as a pink-striped unicorn.” “I refuse to believe that.” I tap in my MaxLife employee code into the sleep pod. “We just need more time and I know we can find it.”
Sun pads into the sleeping lab in red cashmere slippers while reading her tablet. Knowing her, she’s doing one final check on the brain’s data before we enter the patient’s dream. Sometimes it’s annoying how over-the-top thorough she is, but then that’s why Dad hired her as our fourth team member.
“Patient 145’s brain appears perfectly healthy.” She drums her manicured nails on the edge of the tablet. “No sign of decomposing or atrophy. Don’t you find that strange?” “What about this patient hasn’t been strange?” I say. “I can’t remember a time when we weren’t given a patient’s medical history before a mission. Something’s up.”
I glance over at my dad—well, Dr. Hale while we’re working—and adjust my scrubs for the tenth time. He’s in the adjoining room with our technicians. They’re partitioned off by a glass wall, studying the wall full of computer screens, each one that hoists our brain waves and images our brain sends in from the Dreamscape.
MaxLife’s number one rule is complete patient privacy. It prevents us from knowing the patient’s name or getting personally involved due to the intrusive nature of the procedure. But Dad’s never withheld a patient’s medical history from us before.
“Every case is different.” Javier shrugs, but lines form along his forehead. “Maybe since this client is so different, we’ll finally get our breakthrough. Stay focused on the job and make this mission a success.”
“You are traveling through another dimension,” Tony calls out in his best Rod Serling voice. “One of dreams and imagination!”
He hums the Twilight Zone music as his clear sleep pod lid encloses his body. “See you kids in the Twilight Zone.”
“Keep it professional in there,” Javier orders before Tony’s lid clamps shut. “Twilight Zone.” Sun huffs. “How are we supposed to make progress when no one takes our missions seriously?”
Chuckling, I climb into my own pod, glad Tony is with us. He always knows how to calm my nerves. My body sinks onto the soft, padded contours. These sleek white pods are specifically designed for each team member with swooping upward sides in case we thrash about during the dream, protecting us.
And yet, as I strap on my pulse tracker and attach the patches to my heart monitor, my eyes seek my dad. Could he be hiding something?
“You might be right about this Vault.” Sun sets down her tablet and narrows her eyes at me. “Just don’t do anything stupid, Aria. Got it?”
“Stupid?” I put on my most innocent face. “I never do anything stupid.”
She lifts her eyebrows, shooting me an I-totally-don’t-believe-you look. I cringe, remembering our argument after the Dream Walk last week when I decided to not follow Javier’s orders. She doesn’t understand that Grams doesn’t have time to wait around for protocols and orders because every day she loses more memories.
Which is why time is so important.
“Okay, maybe the elevator wasn’t the best choice,” I concede. “Next time, we can borrow your brother’s jet. Then we could’ve kept up with the Dreamer for sure.”
Her lips quirk. “Behave yourself, Aria, and I’ll consider asking him.”
“Deal.” I blow her a kiss as my pod’s cover rises over me.
I slip my Neuro-Read sleep mask, strapping it around the back of my head so it can read a complete assessment of my brain waves. Between the sleep mask and my heart monitor, the techs can read my EEG’s, EOG’s, and ECG’s to measure my brain waves, eye movements, and heart. It transfers my thought processes into the Dreamscape Network and converts them into visuals. Dad calls it our brain connector.
Once I’m in a dream state, the technicians will connect my brain waves and the three others on my team into our client’s dreams. Basically, it inserts our team’s consciousness into the dreamer’s consciousness. We can’t read each other’s thoughts, but we’re able to interact and think just like a normal dream.
As if any dream is normal.
“Sleep induction enacted, Ms. Hale,” a woman’s melodic voice vibrates through the pod. Javier named her Celeste. “Sweet dreams.”
Within moments, the Sound Oasis kicks in, emitting the cry of seagulls and crash of waves to my ears. Beneath these noises, a thrumming hum trickles through. It’s this noise that will induce my brain waves into sleep mode. I count down, waiting for sleep to come. 10, 9, 8, 7…
CHRISTINA
FARLEY is the author of the bestselling Gilded series, THE PRINCESS AND THE
PAGE, and THE DREAM HEIST. Prior to that, she worked as an international
teacher and at a top secret job for Disney where she was known to scatter pixie
dust before the sun rose. When not traveling the world or creating imaginary
ones, she spends time with her family in Clermont, Florida with her husband and
two sons where they are busy preparing for the next World Cup, baking
cheesecakes, and raising a pet dragon that’s in disguise as a cockatiel. Visit
her online at ChristinaFarley.com.
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(1) winner
will receive a $25 Amazon GC - International.
Ends November 29th, midnight EST.
Week One:
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11/14/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/14/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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11/15/2022 |
TikTok Unboxing Game
& Review |
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11/15/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/16/2022 |
Instagram Unboxing
Game & Review |
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11/16/2022 |
Excerpt |
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11/17/2022 |
Instagram Unboxing
Game & Review & LFL Drop Pic |
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11/17/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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11/18/2022 |
Review, Instagram
Review, Instagram Unboxing Game |
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11/18/2022 |
Review |
Week Two:
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11/21/2022 |
Instagram Unboxing
Game & Review |
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11/21/2022 |
IG Review |
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11/22/2022 |
Instagram Unboxing
Game & Review |
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11/22/2022 |
Instagram Unboxing
Game & Review |
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11/23/2022 |
Instagram Unboxing
Game |
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11/23/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/24/2022 |
Instagram Unboxing
Game & Review |
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11/24/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/25/2022 |
Instagram Unboxing
Game & TikTok Unboxing Game |
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11/25/2022 |
Excerpt |
I liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteInception is one of my favorite movies. Looking forward to reading this one.
ReplyDelete